Related Articles

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney says President Barack Obama has faith in General John Allen to continue as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, while he is investigated for alleged "inappropriate communications" with a woman involved in the scandal that led Central Intelligence Agency chief David Petraeus to resign.

The spokesman says Obama thinks very highly of General Allen and his service to the country.

General John Allen

Appointed Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in 2011

Deputy commander of U.S. Central Command from 2008 to 2011

Served as a deputy commanding general of multinational force in Iraq from 2006 to 2008

Graduated from Naval Academy in 1976

Earlier, the president put his nomination of General Allen as NATO's supreme commander on hold, pending the Defense Department investigation. Obama made the nomination a month before Petraeus resigned Friday, citing an extramarital affair.

The allegations against General Allen involve his correspondence with Jill Kelley, who has been described as a Petraeus family friend. It was her complaint to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about threatening emails from the woman with whom Petraeus had the affair, biographer Paula Broadwell, that eventually led to the CIA chief's resignation.

A senior defense official says the FBI is examining 20,000 to 30,000 pages of communications involving General Allen and Kelley - mostly emails sent between 2010 and 2012.

A Pentagon spokesman, George Little, said the FBI brought the matter involving General Allen to the Defense Department on Sunday and Panetta directed the Pentagon's inspector-general to investigate.

General Allen has denied wrongdoing and will retain his command position in Afghanistan during the probe.

David Petraeus

Resigned from CIA on November 9, 2012

Senate confirmed him as CIA director in 2011

Appointed head of U.S. Central Command in 2008, oversaw military operations in Afghanistan

Commanded U.S. troops in Iraq in 2007

Commanded 101st Airborne Division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq

Graduated from West Point in 1974

The U.S. defense official who discussed the case would not specify the nature of the documents, but said there is a "distinct possibility" the matter is connected to the Petraeus investigation. He said he did not know whether Petraeus was mentioned in the emails between General Allen and Kelley.

The official also would not say whether the investigation is criminal, but said the situation prompted enough concern that the Pentagon believed it was prudent to order an investigation and notify Congress.

A senior defense official says the FBI uncovered 20,000 to 30,000 pages of communications involving General Allen and Kelley - mostly emails sent between 2010 and 2012.

A Pentagon spokesman, George Little, said the FBI brought the matter involving General Allen to the Defense Department on Sunday and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta directed the Pentagon's inspector-general to investigate.

General Allen has denied wrongdoing and will retain his command position in Afghanistan during the probe.

The U.S. defense official who discussed the case would not specify the nature of the documents, but said there is a "distinct possibility" the matter is connected to the Petraeus investigation. He said he did not know whether Petraeus was mentioned in the emails between General Allen and Kelley.

The official also would not say whether the investigation is criminal, but said the situation prompted enough concern that the Pentagon believed it was prudent to order an investigation and notify Congress.

President Obama had previously nominated the U.S. Marine Corps' second-in-command, General Joseph Dunford, to replace General Allen in Afghanistan. The Pentagon says Panetta would like General Dunford confirmed as quickly as possible, regardless of the new investigation.

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

Video

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

Video

Fifty years ago, lawmakers approved, and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The measure outlawed racial discrimination in voting, giving millions of blacks in many parts of the southern United States federal enforcement of the right to vote. Correspondent Chris Simkins introduces us to some civil rights leaders who were on the front lines in the struggle for voting rights.

Video

Billions of dollars of so-called ‘dirty money’ from the proceeds of crime - especially from Russia - are being laundered through the London property market, according to anti-corruption activists. As Henry Ridgwell reports from the British capital, the government has pledged to crack down on the practice.

Video

Ottawa, Illinois, is the hometown of W.D. Boyce, who founded the Boy Scouts of America in 1910. In Ottawa, where Scouting remains an important part of the legacy of the community, the end of the organization's ban on openly gay adult leaders was seen as inevitable. VOA's Kane Farabaugh reports.

Video

Artificial limbs, including the most complex of them – the human hand – are getting more life-like and useful due to constant advances in tiny hydraulic, pneumatic and electric motors called actuators. But now, as VOA’s George Putic reports, scientists in Germany say the future of the prosthetic hand may lie not in motors but in wires that can ‘remember’ their shape.

Video

A British pro-democracy group has accused Russia of abusing the global law enforcement agency Interpol by requesting the arrest and extradition of political opponents. A new report by the group notes such requests can mean the accused are unable to travel and are often unable to open bank accounts. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

Video

Talks on a major new trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations are said to be nearing completion in Hawaii. Some trade experts say the "positive atmosphere" at the discussions could mean a deal is within reach, but there is still hard bargaining to be done over many issues and products, including U.S. drugs and Japanese rice. VOA's Jim Randle reports.

Video

Earth is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction. The last such event was caused by an asteroid 66 million years ago. It killed off the dinosaurs and practically everything else. So scientists are in a race against time to classify the estimated 11 million species alive today. So far only 2 million are described by science, and researchers are worried many will disappear before they even have a name. VOA’s Rosanne Skirble reports.

Video

Scientists have long been trying to develop an effective protection and cure for malaria - one of the deadliest diseases that affects people in tropical areas, especially children. As the World Health Organization announces plans to begin clinical trials of a promising new vaccine, scientists in South Africa report that they too are at an important threshold. George Putic reports, they are testing a compound that could be a single-dose cure for malaria.

Video

The latest issue of 'New York' magazine features 35 women who say they were drugged and raped by film and television celebrity Bill Cosby. The women are aged from 44 to 80 and come from different walks of life and races. The magazine interviewed each of them separately, but Zlatica Hoke reports their stories are similar.

Video

The United States is promising not to give up its fight against what Secretary of State John Kerry calls the “scourge” of modern slavery. Officials released the country’s annual human trafficking report Monday – a report that’s being met with some criticism. VOA’s National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin has more from the State Department.

Video

Abandoned more than 50 years ago, the underground streetcar station in Washington D.C.’s historic DuPont Circle district is about to be reborn. The plan calls for turning the spacious underground platforms - once meant to be a transportation hub, - into a unique space for art exhibitions, presentations, concerts and even a film set. Roman Mamonov has more from beneath the streets of the U.S. capital. Joy Wagner narrates his report.

Video

Greece has replaced Italy as the main gateway for migrants into Europe, with more than 100,000 arrivals in the first six months of 2015. Many want to move further into Europe and escape Greece’s economic crisis, but they face widespread dangers on the journey overland through the Balkans. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

Video

After the closure of a major rubbish dump a week ago, the streets of Beirut are filling up with trash. Having failed to draw up a plan B, politicians are struggling to deal with the problem. John Owens has more for VOA from Beirut.

Video

A U.N. climate conference in December aims to produce an ambitious agreement to fight heat-trapping greenhouse gases. But many local governments are not waiting, and have drafted their own climate action plans. That’s the case with Paris — which is getting special attention, since it’s hosting the climate summit. Lisa Bryant takes a look for VOA at the transformation of the French capital into an eco-city.